DYA sounds alarm on youth detention and funding cut concerns

The Department of Youth Affairs is sounding the alarm on a major gap in Guam’s juvenile justice system that has some kids confined longer than necessary because there’s simply no where else for them to go.   It’s the most serious finding in a new report we first reported on Wednesday, which the agency head says is compounded by President Donald Trump’s unexpected federal funding termination.  

Detention is meant to be short term at the DYA Correctional Facility in Mangilao, but some juvenile offenders are “caught up in the system” and end up staying longer than their sentence.  For agency director Melanie Brennan, it’s the most critical concern identified in the Juvenile Justice Collaborative Report. 

"The report identifies ten significant areas in need for improvement, but in my personal opinion at least for the youth residents in DYA, the most serious is the lack of placement alternatives for juveniles caught up in the system, particularly for dual status youth and youth with serious mental illness," she told KUAM News.

Brennan says DYA’s latest population data showed 28 kids in their system, 20 of whom are dual status. That means they are both Child Protective Service wards, due to abuse or neglect in the home, and juvenile delinquents. 

Brennan added, "There’s a higher chance of an adolescent being involved in the juvenile justice system if they are also a ward of CPS." She adds 12 out of the 28 (about 43%), are on psychotropic drugs for serious mental health illnesses. While detention should be the last option for them, she says there’s a lack of services on Guam that has them ultimately confined at DYA. 

"There is the children’s inpatient unit, but that’s just to stabilize a youth with serious mental illness," she detailed. "But once they’re stabilized, there’s no real place to go except home. And if home doesn’t have the capacity, they're often sent to DYA."

"Now, we don’t have the background to really treat and monitor the youth, so GBHWC received grant monies to do this. So we really rely on their services to help our kids and to improve kids with serious mental illness outcomes." 

DYA partners with the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, who provides on-site assistance thanks to grant monies, but unexpected cuts to federal funds is causing alarm.  According to Adelup, President Trump ordered immediate claw backs of federal funding for substance abuse and mental health programs, including a loss of over $6 million allocated to GBHWC. 

"And so with the recent notice that funding will be cut – I mean they weren’t even given notice," said Brennan. "The notice is termination, there’s no funding. That’s a real concern for DYA and the residents that we serve."

For the time being, the report calls for legislative action and a plan to increase capacity in foster homes, youth shelters and other resources as alternatives to detention. 

"Public safety, obviously that’s a legitimate concern. But the goal is really to balance accountability with support and rehabilitation for juveniles. That makes the community safer in the long run," she said.